Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-03-23
IRELAND.
rzx sRrrrsx pARIIAnxHr DISCUSS
ING HYl CRIMINAL LAWS.
The Government Leader Urges Immediate
Aetion--yshn Morley Opposes
the Notion.

OOulfHOuS s8t HI Hhbhs "h1 :" '',% 50
session. The Government has been
trying to dispose of the naval and civil
service bills, but the Home-Bule mem
bers by obstruction have prevented any
action being taken. Two hundred and
sixty members are present.
Mr.. Raikes, Postmaster General. re-
ceived Mr.. Courtney, chairman OF com
mittees, in the chair during the discus
sion of the civil-seryice vote, because
the proceedings were farcical.
Mr.. Tanner, member for Cork, In
formed the Chair that fresh batch OF
eloquent Parnellites would arrive on the
6 A. M. train to reinforce the opposl.
ton vote. There is no likelihood that
the House will rise before midday, as
Mr.. Smith, the Government leader, de-
clsred that the civil-service bill must
be passed before an adjournment takes
place.
Lofer.-The House of Commons adj
journed at 1:25 o'clock this afternoon.
Before rising the House passed the
civilseryice bill.
YESTERDAYS SESSION.
LoEpoy, March 22.-William Henry
Smith. the Government leader, arose
amid cheers in the House OF Commons
this evening and moved that the bill for
the amendment OF criminal laws in Ire
land have precedence over all orders OF
the day. He said Ireland was in state
of Reorganization aud the Government
was bound to act under sense OF pub
lie duty, particularly when it found
iuries in that country intimidated and
notorious criminals, whose deeds were
inimical to the existence OF society,
getting off Scott free.
Mr.. Smith said he would refrain from
stating the details of the measure,
leaving that to the Chief Secretary for
Ireland. What he now urged was that
the measure was absolutely necessary
for the security and happiness OF the
law-abiding population of Ireland.
Referring to the proposed amendment
offered last night by John Morley re-
jecting the declaration Of urgency for
the Government bill, Mr. Smith re-
minded the House how Gladstone re-
sisted the adoption of similar
amendment in 1881. The position
of the Government now was the same
as that of Gladstone's Government
then. Regarding their ameliorative
policy towards Ireland the speaker said
the Government land bill would be di-
vided into two parts one OF these
would be introduced Immediately, the
other would be q land-purchase bill of
wide scope. Both measures would be
found to he framed on principles OF
honesty and justice. The speaker,
however, thought the Government
could not hope that any mea-
sure framed on these lines would
satisfy the Irish National League,
which, he said, was successor OF the
/ and League, and was the cause OF all
| the DISCRIMINATION and terrorism per-
yading ireland. Mr.. Smith said he
hoped the House would speedily adopt
| the Governments measures If the
House did not adopt them the Govern
ment would be compelled to ask the
opinion of the country to either con-
| firm their policy or relieve them of the
responsibilities of the Government.
[Cheers.
John Morley, moving the rejection
| of the motion for urgency, denied alb
solutely Smiths assertions as to the
lawless condition of Ireland and de-
manded that the Government give
comparative statistics OF crime in
Ireland, which, he said, would
show that beyond a certain very
narrow area the country had sell
dom been quieter. The Governments
proposed restrictive Legislation would
only aggravate such evils as existed,
ana would weaken and spoil whatever
remedies that they had in store. The
Land Commission had declared that the
secret and cause of the combinations
among the people was the inability OF
tenants to pay excessive rents. 1t had
been shown that the Irish landlords
combine the habits of extravaganza Ill
emulation of richer landlords in
England with system OF rick
rent. No matter how hard ten
ants might strive TO meet their
rents this wretched landlord system
crushed them. The coercive proposals
of the Government appeared to be
based upon the idea that the people OF
Ireland were indolent and dishonest ;
but those who knew them had differ
ent conception of their character They
believed them to be honest, hard-work-
| ing. and truthful. He could only re-
gard the bill as measure designed to
| enable landlords TO exact exorbitaDt
rents, throwing the law on the side OF
the rich, removing all coerciye or
protective power which tenants derived
from combining, and putting coercion
npon unfortunate tenants. He was less
| anxious to secure rents for some hard
landlords than to secure just treatment
for those good and honest working
people. [Cheers.1 Some landlords
practiced a plan OF campaign OF their
own more immoral and more deserving
of Being called n swindle than was
the plan of the tenants. Some
land agents attempted to coerce
tenants into buying under the
Ashboufne act, debating the terms oil
purchase and threatening to evict un-
less the tenant consented. Yet the Gov
eminent demanded urgency for a bill
| giving such men power to force tenants
to pay unreasonable rent or TO pur-
| chase at an unreasonable price. Be-
hind this bill lay another proposal-that
the British taxpayer be security if the
coercion OF tenants failed to satisfy
the landlords. II was Irish history
over again-moral wrongs pressing
upon suffering people without legal
remedy then illegal acts to secure
something like moral rights and then
coercion, driving just discomfort under
the surface and exciting fiercer discon-
tent. Cheers The wisest policy was
remedial legislation, which would de-
stroy the roots of discomfort. In 1881,
when the coercion bill was passed, the
number of eyictions rose enormously ;
the number OF outmges increased from
40 in February, 1881, to 479 in jan
nary, 1882, and to 531 in March.
He doubted whether the excessive
penal laws of the eighteenth century
did more injury to Ireland than did the
agrarian laws of the present century.
To ask urgency for placing law upon
the side OF the landlords was TO shut
l Al II ......, A. kon..to He